Pen to paper
International literary agents dish out the secrets to success
In today’s saturated market, a great book is no longer enough. According to Sandra Pareja, an international literary agent representing Casanova and Lynch, “You need to prepare and curate your own manuscript, and accomplish every step, before you approach an agent. It’s critical to make sure you have done the work first.” Pareja held a workshop with literary agent Emma Price, representing Silvia Bastos publishing, at the Grand Victorian, located in Victoria, on Saturday afternoon.
In today’s saturated market, a great book is no longer enough. According to Sandra Pareja, an international literary agent representing Casanova and Lynch, “You need to prepare and curate your own manuscript, and accomplish every step, before you approach an agent. It’s critical to make sure you have done the work first.” Pareja held a workshop with literary agent Emma Price, representing Silvia Bastos publishing, at the Grand Victorian, located in Victoria, on Saturday afternoon.
The workshop focussed on the steps a writer must take – from the editing process to the day the book is published – to be successful.
“Get trusted readers to give feedback on the work before it hits an agent because the agent receives (if they are wellknown) at least 50 emails a day, so they don’t have time to go through them all. You have to make yourself stand out,” commented Price, who travelled with Pareja, from Barcelona in Spain.
Work that is pitched to a publisher from an agent is more likely to be successful.
“The agent pitches the book and sells it to the publisher. And the publisher then has to sell it to the general public, but you are the first seller. So you need to really put yourself in other people’s shoes,” said Pareja.
Why would someone want to read this book or, why would this sell? These are questions the literary agents addressed to the group of curious writers gathered around the table. “You’re helping the agent with their job by answering these questions with originality. We want and need to be convinced that this work is important or captivating,” acknowledged Price, who noted Barcelona is the publishing hub within Europe.
“Europe is a great place for publishing because you have the two biggest book fairs there – one in London in the spring, and one in Frankfurt in the fall. Frankfurt is the largest publishing event in the world,” noted Price.
The end result is to get a contract, as well as have the right agent sustain the author’s career.
“You have to really believe in your book, no matter what genre. Don’t rush it. Think about what makes it stand out,” said Pareja, who believes getting work published beforehand is a bonus.
“If you can get stuff published in literary magazines or journals, then that helps make your work stand out.” Building a platform, as a new author, is the most powerful key to success. The two literary agents are on the judging panel for the Victoria Literary Festival short story competition this month. The winner of the short story competition will be announced on Sunday, Aug. 27.